Club Information
Welcome to the Sugar Land Rotary Club!
Sugar Land Rotary

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 11:45 a.m.
Sugar Creek Country Club
420 Sugar Creek Blvd
Also online via Zoom - see link below
Sugar Land, TX 77478
United States of America
Phone:
(832) 987-4193
Meets every Wednesday, both in-person and online
Run/Walk 5K for a good cause!  The event is February 8th. Register here: SLRC 5K Run
Social Media Links
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Mailing Address
Sugar Land Rotary
1650 Highway 6, Suite 470
Sugar Land, TX 77478
This is Rotary!  See our community projects which is what we are all about, plus our meetings info, where we truly build goodwill and better friendships.
Learn more about polio on Rotary District 5890 website.
Watch this video to see why you should join us at Rotary International!
What is Rotary?  People Of Action!
 
 
Visit our Facebook page here: #SugarLandRotaryClubRocks
Rotary's 7 Areas of Focus
Want to get involved?  Click here to learn about the many ways you can get involved with the Sugar Land Rotary Club and make a difference!
Learn more about Rotary District 5890 Governor Nancy Anderson here.
Club Executives & Directors
President
President Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Club Service Projects Chair
Membership
Vice President
Immediate Past President
Club Service
Rotary Youth Exchange
International Service
Next Generation Service
Club Administration
Sergeant-at-Arms
Upcoming Events - Join Us!
Sugar Land Rotary Club Foundation Board

Patrick Bullard – President

Raileigh Bailes, Jr. – Secretary

Jair Bobys – Vice President

Mitch Rahim – Treasurer

Jack Brady - Director

Sugar Land Rotary Club Facebook Feed
Home Page Stories

Origins of Rotary

Over ninety-nine years ago, there lived in the city of Chicago, a young lawyer who had only a few friends and acquaintances and who felt the pangs of loneliness. His name was Paul Harris. Desiring to extend his circle of acquaintances, he conceived the plan of calling together a few men engaged in different lines of business and explained to them an idea which was forming in his mind.
 
His idea was that man is friendly by nature and that the necessity of earning a livelihood under modern economic conditions should not compel a person to sacrifice their natural instinct to have friends and be friendly. That it should be possible for the person in the city to have business and professional friends as does the person in the small town. Friendship should be, and in reality is, the fundamental basis of a person's business relations with their fellowmen.
 
Paul Harris invited three men of acquaintance to meet at his office in the UnityBuilding, Chicago, on the evening of February 23, 1905. Those invited were Silvester A. Schiele, a coal dealer, H. E. Shorey, a merchant tailor, and Gus H. Loehr, a mining operator. The meeting was informal, and Paul Harris explained his idea of the formation of a club composed of people each from a different line of business or profession. It was agreed to meet again a week later in the office of Paul Harris.
 
At the second meeting several other gentlemen were present by invitation and the formation of a club was completed.
The name of "Rotary" was suggested by Paul Harris for the reason that it was decided to hold the meetings in rotation at the offices of the different members.
In the fall of 1905, the first dinner meeting of the club was held in the old Sherman House. So came into existence Rotary, and Club No. 1 in Chicago.
The first Rotary Club outside the U.S.A. was in WinnipegCanada in 1910. In 1911 Rotary crossed the Atlantic to Ireland and England. In 1912 the International Association of Rotary Clubs was formed and in 1922 this name was shortened to Rotary International.
 
Today there are 1,206,670 million Rotarians in 32,317 clubs in more than 168 countries making significant contributions to the quality of life at home and around the globe
Space here will not permit a full account of the wonderful growth and spread of Rotary.

Rotary Motto

Service Above Self

The Rotary Club

Meets once each week for breakfast, luncheon or dinner.
Membership is formed on the unique plan of up to five active members from each line of business and profession in the community.

Objects of Rotary

  1. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service.
  2. High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying by each Rotarian of their occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
  3. The application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to their personal, business, and community life.
  4. The advancement of international understanding, good will, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional people united in the ideal of service.

Benefits of Rotary

  • Making the acquaintance of people you ought to know.
  • Genuine, wholesome good fellowship.
  • Developing true and helpful friends.
  • Enlightenment as to other people's work, problems and successes.
  • Education in methods that increase efficiency.
  • Stimulation of your desire to be of service to your fellow men, women and society in general.

Obligations of Rotarians

  1. To attend meetings regularly.
  2. To pay dues promptly.
  3. To do my part when called upon.
  4. To be a big-hearted, broad-minded person - a person of energy and action - a Rotarian.

Four Way Test - The Heart of Rotary

One of the most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics in the world is the Rotary 4-Way Test. It was created by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor in 1932 when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. Taylor looked for a way to save the struggling company mired in depression-caused financial difficulties. He drew up a 24-word code of ethics for all employees to follow in their business and professional lives. The 4-Way Test became the guide for sales, production, advertising and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy.
 
The 4-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. Herb Taylor became president of Rotary International in 1954-55.
 
Of the things we think, say or do:
 
  1. Is it the Truth?
  2. Is it fair to all Concerned?
  3. Will it build good will and better Friendships?
  4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Declaration of Rotarians in Businesses and Professions

The Declaration of Rotarians in Businesses and Professions was adopted by the Rotary International Council on Legislation in 1989 to provide more specific guidelines for the high ethical standards called for in the Object of Rotary:

As a Rotarian engaged in a business or profession, I am expected to:
  • Consider my vocation to be another opportunity to serve;
  • Be faithful to the letter and to the spirit of the ethical codes of my vocation, to the laws of my country, and to the moral standards of my community;
  • Do all in my power to dignify my vocation and to promote the highest ethical standards in my chosen vocation;
  • Be fair to my employer, employees, associates, competitors, customers, the public and all those with whom I have a business or professional relationship;
  • Recognize the honor and respect due to all occupations which are useful to society;
  • Offer my vocational talents: to provide opportunities for young people, to work for the relief of the special needs of others, and to improve the quality of life in my community;
  • Adhere to honesty in my advertising and in all representations to the public concerning my business or profession;
  • Neither seek from nor grant to a fellow Rotarian a privilege or advantage not normally accorded others in a business or professional relationship.
This is a presentation on the origins and history of Rotarty Interational, reviews what Rotary's mission and vision statements are, and covers are 5 areas of service and 7 areas of focus:

When I joined Rotary in 2000 in Weston, Florida I knew little about Rotary International - I just want to give back to my community.  I also wanted to meet leaders in the community, learn from them, and together make impactful changes to make the world a better place - one project at a time.

Little did I know that 24 years and 10 Rotary Clubs later (9 in the US and 1 in Chile) I would have the honor of being President of such an active and respected club - the Sugar Land Rotary Club.

Rotary has 1.2 million members with active clubs in over 200 countries throughout the world, and is considered to be the largest non-governmental, non-political service organization in the world.  Rotarians provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.  Interesting fact: Rotary is the only service organization in the world with a seat at the United Nations!

The President of Rotary International for 2023-2024 is Stephanie Urchick, and just like me will serve a one year term.  But Rotary always plans ahead - the Sugar Land Rotary Club President Nominee (for 2025-2026) is Josh Griffin, while the RI President Nominee is Mário César Martins de Camargo.  

President Urchick’s Rotary theme is “The Magic of Rotary”.  That reminds me of a trip many years ago to Mexico, where we collected glasses in the US and gave them out to people there.  I will never forget the young boy that came to me, eyes squinted because he could not see well, and put on the glasses.  Suddenly he looked up to me and said “Es magico!”.  He could see.  That is the magic of Rotary!  Making a difference, one person at a time.

For my Rotary year, I have these primary goals:

  1. From an IMPACT Companion club.  These clubs meet about once a month, focus on making an impact through service, and have a low monthly subscription.  They are Rotarians, and members of the Sugar Land Rotary Club.  This club’s flexible structure will allow us to serve our community better by gaining new members and maintaining others that cannot make our Wednesday meetings.

  2. Help organize a successful fundraiser.  We have already met and formed an experienced committee.  The evening event will be at Safari on March 22 with a very special program.  Details to come!

  3. We will achieve our club growth and district training and participation goals to receive the Club Citation from Rotary International.

  4. Our club will partner with District 5890 to receive matching funds to help with a special project to combat homelessness in Fort Bend County.  A separate fundraiser called Pumpkins for Polio will be held district-wide in October to raise funds to eradicate Polio.

A great thank you goes to the chairs and volunteers of our numerous committees - where the rubber meets the road real work happens. Please keep up the great work you are doing.

I'm very excited about our new Rotary year and I look forward to our time together. Since we improve the odds of getting what you want when you expect and aim for them, it is my hope is that you expect great things for our club and from ourselves. Let’s have fun as we set out to be Impactful, Compassionate, and of the highest Integrity.

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve.

Rotary regards,

Mark Heuchert

 
 
By Mark Heuchert

Our Program on June 10th was the Installation of the 2024-2025 board.  Natalie spoke about over two dozen projects our club completed during her year, from Sugar Land 95 and Toys for Tots to planting trees.  Natalie also showed an emotional and impactful video from Stella from Rescue Us mission that is helping people that were trafficked.  Then our incoming DG (District Governor), Nancy Anderson, called up the new board and installed them, finalizing with Mark Heuchert, our club President for 2024-2025.  Mark then presented his goals for the year to the club, including a new Vision and Mission statement that show how impactful our club is in the community, and how worthwhile our work is.
 
 
Rotary International Goals
  • >20 Community Projects
  • >69 members
  • >4 RAG members
  • >5 current board & new members to district training
  • >10 MyRotary.org training
  • >20 to district conference
SLRC Specific Goals
  • Raise >$37,000
  • Donate >$36,000 to the community
  • Club: 100% Paul Harris Fellows!
  • District Grants
    • Attack Poverty: $6,000
    • Companion IMPACT Club
    • Meet 1/mo, anywhere, anytime, cost is $29/mo
  • Scouting America (Boys & Girls Scouts)!
    • Sponsor a pack!
    • Next Gen will be key contact
  • International Project ⇒ Team up with The Guerrero Clinic
    • 2024 Fall Clinic will be Sunday Sept 29th thru Sunday October 6th
    • Cost: $385 (room & board) plus flight ($850)
    • Looking for at least 2-3 members to come with me!
  • Raffle for Club Foundation
    • Buy $1 tickets, if win raffle pull poker card, if pull Queen of Hearts, win half
   
 
Rotary International Convention 2024
Singapore
 
In May of 2024 I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Singapore for the 2024 RI Convention.  I am truly grateful for the Sugar Land Rotary Club's support in attending.  In order to document my learnings and the fellowship I had, every day I posted on Facebook with a short summary of the day and with some pictures.  Since some members do not use Facebook, I thought I would also put some notes in the Bulletin.
 
Day 0
Went to the Sensoji temple during my layover in Tokyo, and also ate some absolutely amazing sushi! The subway was a bit a challenge to figure out, but people were very helpfulso I managed to get everywhere just OK.
 
Day 1
Had a great first day at the 2024 Rotary International convention! Attended the opening session with Grace Machel attending, who is a world renowned leader on women’s rights. Also very appreciative to have Rotarian friends like Farrah to introduce me to some wonderful Rotarians from around the world.
Here are a few pictures of the day. I met Teresa Whitmore, governor elect for Ottawa, and some of her friends as well. Hoping to work with Farrah to get our Nigerian friend Jonathan over to Houston.
Always wonderful to share these experiences with Rotarians from my district and even my Club! (Sugar Land Rotary)
 
Day 2
My second day at the Rotary Singapore Convention 2024 - D9220 was another great day, learned a lot and made great fellowship. It started out with an early morning sunrise walk at the Gardens by the Bay. Amazing how they turned a barren Island into a freshwater marsh full with animals.
During the opening ceremony, they spoke about mental health and making sure we continue to talk about the topic and helping others, and also a local Singaporean leader Claire Chiang spoke about making a difference in protecting the environment while growing business investments and tourism. Finally, we ended the day with Singapore hosting clubs, and it was super fun with traditional music and dancing from Singapore. 
I met many Rotarians from Washington state, Canada, and New York. These are all connections that I will have for years to come! We are always exchanging ideas on projects, fundraising ideas, and helping our communities. This will help me during my term Sugar Land Rotary!
I also registered for the 2025 Rotary International convention in Calgary! Looking forward to seeing everyone I met there. Excited that Bill & Josh will also be going. Hopefully others from our club will go as well!  2025 Rotary International Convention Calgary
 
Day 3
Day 3 of the Rotary Singapore Convention 2024 - D9220 was yet another great opportunity to meet some neat people from all over the world and learn more about Rotary.
In the morning, I met up with former governor Mindi Snyder and her friend Lynette, and then we had the foundation lunch where we learned about all the amazing things that the foundation is allowing returns to do around the world. Our host was the district governor from Japan, and at the table, we discussed fundraising via a Pickleball tournament! Have to do that. 🙂
After lunch, I had a nice coffee with Jeff Tallas and Heather Rimato and shared ideas on what we have learned and what we can implement at our own club in good ole Sugar Land. 
In the evening, I went to the Rotary Brew fellowship event, and had some awesome beers at the lion brewery. There I met with Steve Werner, nephew of Vince Lombardi! He is a former Peace Corps alumni and helps alumni from the Peace Corps connect with Rotary clubs, strategizes with RI on joint programs, and helps alumni Connect in general. Great person to meet. Also met with David Kirkaldy from Grand Cayman who is incredibly involved in Rotary on global level.
 
Day 4
WHAT if I told you that you could:
- Eliminate homelessness
- Eradicate polio
- Fight human trafficking while helping the trafficked
- Give the gift and of site
- Empower woman
That. Is. Rotary.
So:
1. If you’re in high school join interact.
2. If you’re in college join Rotaract.
3. All others, join Rotary!
As you can see this whole experience was quite inspiring and motivating. Rotary International is far more influential and powerful at helping communities than I ever realized. Rotary doesn’t just raise billions of dollars, it’s in almost every country at all levels of the community and has far more reach than virtually any other organization. The fact that it is non-political and non-governmental makes it even more effective at implementing solutions.
Today started out with a nice coffee with Klaus from Germany, after which I went to a session on expanding membership and met Tari from Hungary.  I met Dave from Iowa who knows Nancy Anderson and sends his regards, and we also brainstormed ideas on being a more adaptive club, and to make it “irresistible“ for people to join. Henry from Uganda wants to buy Draeger gas detection equipment! And finally, I am excited for the trip next year to Calgary, which will be an absolutely beautiful place to explore as well!
 
Day 5
My last day in Singapore: vacation day!
Singapore is a really neat city with some fantastic architecture. I did all the touristy stuff, so next time I can explore the beaches a bit more, or catch a flight to Bali.
The cloud dome was truly an amazing experience, where you could walk through all different kinds of ecosystems, from caves to mountain cloud forests.
Then while taking a “bum boat“ cruise, I met Josef and his wife Mirka - Rotarians from the Czech Republic! They introduced me to a local Singaporean, Billy, who was an incredibly gracious host. Can’t wait to repay the favor.
 
 
Mark Heuchert Facebook links of trip:
Rotary International Vision Statement
Rotary supports mental health awareness for adults
Run/Walk 5K for a good cause!  The event is February 8th. Register here: SLRC 5K Run
The Sugar Land Rotary Club is proud to sponsor the Fort Bend ISD project "Found & Not Forgotten".
Rotary International Donations: Disaster Relief for war-afflicted regions
SLRC Video
Why join the SLRC? See this video! 
Many thanks for our Corporate Sponsor, PCCPA! Please visit their website below to learn more about this amazing non-profit doing good in our community.
A key RI directive is to eradicate polio. But we are not alone.  RI is proud to be one of the 6 partners of GPEI.  Learn more here.
Organizations we support:  Access Health, Asians Against Domestic Abuse, Barrington Place Elementary Broncos, Behind the Badge Charities, BBBS, Boy Scouts, Child Advocates of Fort Bend, Children Change Colombia, Human Needs Ministry, Easterseals, Fort Bend Education Foundation, YMCA,  Fort Bend Partnership for Youth, Fort Bend Rainbow Room, FBS, FBWC, GiGi's Playhouse, The Heart of Texas Foundation, America's Family of Coaches, Jackie Spellman Scholarship Foundation, Literacy Council, Living Water International, Oakland Medical Center, Parks Youth Ranch, PCCPA, Project Smile, Rise Against Hunger, RBJX, RI, Interact Club, RYLA, National Exchange Club, Second Mile, SL Art Center & Gallery, SL CAF, SL Heritage  Foundation, TX Dragon Boat Association, The Arc, FB Boys Choir of Texas, The Landing, WCJC, YIP
Service Above Self
Rotary International's 7 areas of causes:
 
Rotary International has raised over $3 Billion to help those need worldwide.  The global foundation also works with local clubs, including the SLRC, to support and fund projects right here in Texas.  Join us to learn more!
Rotary International President-elect Stephanie Urchick revealed the 2024-2025 presidential theme, The Magic of Rotary, at International Assembly. 
 
"We are not going to end polio or bring peace to the world by waving a wand. It's up to you. You create the magic with every project completed, every dollar donated, and every new member."
 
 
THE OBJECT OF ROTARY
 
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and in particular, to encourage and foster:
First: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
Second: High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
Third: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;
Fourth: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
 
THE FOUR-WAY TEST
 
Of the things we think, say, or do:
1. Is it the truth?
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4 . Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
 
ROTARIAN CODE OF CONDUCT
 
The following code of conduct has been adopted for the use of Rotarians:
As a Rotarian, I will 
1. Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life
2. Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect
3. Use my professional skills through Rotary to: mentor young people, help those with special needs, and improve people's quality of life in my community and in the world 
4. Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians
5. Help maintain a harassment-free environment in Rotary meetings, events, and activities, report
any suspected harassment, and help ensure non-retaliation to those individuals that report harassment.